Berri rejects Netanyahu’s claim of annexing Lebanese Christian villages

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has categorically dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that some Christian villages in southern Lebanon have asked “to be annexed” by the regime, praising the positions declared by municipal councils and religious leaders in border villages.

On Monday, the top Lebanese legislator commended the statements issued by Christian communities in the districts of Marjeyoun and Bint Jbeil, and specifically lauded the stances adopted by the municipality of Rmeish.

The statements “rejected and refuted false claims by the Israeli prime minister, alleging that residents of these villages sought to join Israel,” Berri stated.

He said the positions of these communities, along with their steadfastness and attachment to their homeland and identity, “reflect an authentic national belonging that remains unwavering under all circumstances.”

Berri went on to warn against Israeli political misinformation aimed at sowing the seeds of division among residents of border areas in southern Lebanon.

He stressed that “their shared concerns, suffering, hopes, and aspirations remain unified around ending the war, liberating their land, returning to their ancestral villages, and rebuilding what has been destroyed by ongoing Israeli aggression.”

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Berri then called on the Beirut government as well as Arab and international bodies to act urgently to halt the systematic Israeli demolition activities in the Bint Jbeil district, as well as in Marjeyoun, Nabatieh, and Tyre regions.

He stated that the scale of destruction and recurrent Israeli ceasefire violations reflect clear intentions to render large swathes of southern Lebanon uninhabitable, adding that such developments can no longer be met with silence.

Earlier in the day, Hanna al-Amil, mayor of Rmeish, dismissed Netanyahu’s annexation claim of some Lebanese Christian villages.

“This claim is totally untrue,” he told Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA).

“None of the Christian villages have made this request as Netanyahu claimed,” Amil added.

Such a request “is completely out of the question,” he said, adding that 15 Christian villages have already denied these Israeli allegations.

“The Christian villages are the heart of Lebanon, beating with patriotism, attachment to the land and Lebanese identity,” the mayor stressed.

Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling in southern Lebanon occur despite a framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel on June 26 under US mediation, which aims to end the offensive and secure Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

Israeli forces continue to occupy regions in southern Lebanon, with some areas held for decades and others taken during the 2023-2024 war, while they have advanced over 10 kilometers into Lebanese territory in the most recent offensive.

Since March 2, the Israeli military's offensives in Lebanon have claimed the lives of at least 4,303 people and injured over 12,200, according to reports from Lebanese authorities, while also displacing more than one million individuals.

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